Learning cycle — 4Cs

The 4Cs learning cycle characterises the various attractive and repulsive forces driving  a learning process through different stages. These forces produce an ongoing cyclical movement between the realms of the known and the unknown. 

This model can be used to identify the motivations driving the behaviours of someone within a change process. It can also be used to think about the forces directing your own reflective journey.

It is closely linked with the reflective process. It has some similarities to the Four-Rooms of Change developed by Claes Janssen.

The zones

Commitment (pursuing paths)— proving value and building familiarity
(Force = towards the known)

Commitment is the motivation to value the meaning schemas you already have and that have served you well so far. It is a desire to stick with what you know and to expand and elaborate on that, applying it to more situations.

Criticality (making judgements) — pushing the limits and seeking better
(Force = away from the known)

Criticality is the motivation to question what you think you know and to probe the limitations and weaknesses of your existing meaning schemas. It is a desire to identify discrepancies so that you can find better ways of understanding yourself and the world.

Curiosity (exploring gaps)— embracing ignorance and introducing novelty
(Force = towards the unknown)

Curiosity is the motivation to recognise and fill the gaps you have identified in your meaning schemas. It is a desire to discover new, different and better ways of understanding.

Confidence (developing beliefs)— seeing potential and acting in hope
(Force = away from the unknown)

Confidence is the motivation to value the future potential of new knowledge and understanding. It is a desire to place your trust in what you have discovered despite the risk that it might not live up to your expectations.

Questions to reflect on experience

• Which zones did you or other participants inhabit or pass through during the experience? 

• Which did you avoid?

• Which zones could you have spent more/less time in?

Questions relating to your reflection

• In which of these zones do you feel most and least at home when reflecting?

• In which of these zones do you feel most and least competent?

The cycle

Starting in the zone of Commitment, as you become increasingly familiar with a particular way of understanding (meaning schema) and as you seek to apply it to more situations, you are more likely to encounter the limitations of that understanding and the discrepancies those limitations produce. At this point, you can choose to actively probe these limitations and to test the validity of your meaning schema. In doing this, you are moving away from the known and are entering the zone of Criticality. Alternatively, you could back away from this challenge to your worldview, remain in the zone of Commitment and ignore any discrepancies in order to support your existing schemas, sinking further into denial, defensiveness or complacency. 

In the zone of Criticality, you test and question your existing meaning schemas in order to identify where they are inaccurate, insubstantial, incorrect or absent. At this point you can chose to seek new information in order to fill the gaps in your meaning schemas or to create new ones.  In doing this, you are moving towards the unknown and are entering the zone of Curiosity. Alternatively, you could back away from the uncertainty, remain in the zone of Criticality and ruminate on the inadequacies of your schemas, sinking into disillusionment, cynicism or nihilism.

In the zone of Curiosity, you gather new experiences and new information to help you construct better meaning schemas. At this point, you can choose to take the risk of trusting that this newly acquired information has the potential to be valuable and can try to apply it. In doing this, you are moving away from the unknown and are entering the zone of Confidence. Alternatively, you could back away from the risk that your information might be unreliable, remain in the zone of Curiosity and constantly pursue novelty, sinking into sensation seeking, dissatisfaction or distraction.

In the zone of Confidence, you take a chance on the new information you have discovered, using it to amend and apply meaning schemas. At this point, you can choose to go deeper into this new knowledge, making it increasingly central to your understanding. In doing this, you are moving towards the known and are entering the zone of Commitment. Alternatively, you could back away from the risk of applying this new knowledge, remain in the zone of Confidence revelling in the false comfort of your superficial, untested new knowledge, sinking into gullibility, faddism or doubt.

Questions to reflect on experience

• To what extent did you or other participants move through the cycle during the experience?

• Did you or anyone else get stuck in particular zones?

Questions relating to your reflection

• Which directions of movement are easier/harder for you when you reflect?

• Which of the actions do you feel most/least confident about:

  • building familiarity

  • pushing the limits

  • seeking better

  • embracing ignorance

  • introducing novelty

  • seeing potential

  • acting in hope

  • proving value?